Inbred broccoli line BRM50-3905

ABSTRACT

Inbred broccoli line, designated BRM50-3905 is disclosed. The invention relates to the seeds of inbred broccoli line BRM50-3905, to the plants of inbred broccoli line BRM50-3905, and to methods for producing a broccoli plant produced by crossing the inbred line BRM50-3905 with itself or another broccoli line. The invention further relates to hybrid broccoli seeds and plants produced by crossing the inbred line BRM50-3905 with another broccoli line.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to new and distinctive broccoli inbred line,designated BRM50-3905. There are numerous steps involved in thedevelopment of any new and novel desirable germplasm with superiorcombining ability. Plant breeding begins with the analysis anddefinition of problems and weaknesses of the current germplasm, theestablishment of program goals, and definition of specific breedingobjectives. The next step is selection of germplasm that posses thetraits to meet the program goals and the best breeding method to reachthose goals. The objective is to combine in a single variety or hybridan improved combination of desirable traits from the parental germplasm.These important characteristics may include higher yield, better flavor,improved color and field holding ability, resistance to diseases andinsects along with economic seed yields to facilitate the cost of hybridseed production.

The method chosen for breeding or selection depends on the mode of plantreproduction, the heritability of the trait(s) being improved, and thecultivar (variety) used commercially (e.g. F₁ hybrid, pureline). Thecomplexity of inheritance influences choice of breeding method. A mostdifficult task is the identification of individuals that are geneticallysuperior, because for most traits the true genotypic value is masked byother confounding plant traits or environmental factors. One method ofidentifying a superior plant is to observe its performance relative toother experimental plants and to a widely grown standard cultivar. If asingle observation is inconclusive, observation in multiple locationsand seasons provide a better estimate of its genetic worth.

The development of commercial broccoli hybrids requires the developmentof homozygous inbred lines. Breeding programs combine desirable traitsfrom two or more germplasm sources from which various broad basedbreeding gene pools are used to develop inbred lines by selfing followedby selection of desired phenotypes sometimes utilizing anther,microspore and ovule culture to speed up and improve selectionefficiency.

The goal of plant breeding is to develop new, unique, and superiorbroccoli cultivars. The breeder initially selects and crosses two ormore parental lines, followed by repeated selfing and selection,producing many new genetic combinations. The breeder can theoreticallygenerate billions of different genetic combinations via crossing,selfing and mutations. The breeder has no direct control at the cellularlevel. Therefore, two breeders will never develop the same line, or evenvery similar lines, having the same broccoli traits.

Description of breeding methods that are commonly used for differenttraits and crops can be found in one of several reference books. (e.g.Allard, R. W. “Principles of Plant Breeding” John Wiley and Son, pp.115-161, 1960; Simmonds, 1979; Sneep et al., 1979; Fehr, 1987).

Proper testing and evaluation should detect any major faults andestablish the level of superiority or improvement over currentcultivars. In addition to showing superior performance, there must be ademand for a new cultivar that is compatible with industry standards orwhich creates a new market. For seed-propagated cultivars, it must befeasible to maintain the inbred lines and produce seed easily andeconomically.

Broccoli, Brassica oleracea L., is a new crop in North, South andCentral America, Europe and Asia. The introduction of hybrid cultivarsin the 1960's provided a magnitude increase in yield, holding ability,expanded growing seasons and large scale production of broccoli. Thegoal in broccoli breeding is to make continued improvement in hybridbroccoli yields and horticultural characteristics in order to sustainthe supply to meet continuous increase in demand for broccoli indeveloped and emerging world economies. To accomplish this goal newbreeding methods such as anther culture and microspore culture have beenutilized to more rapidly generate inbred broccoli lines from morediverse germplasm sources.

Broccoli (Brassica oleracea, L.) belongs to the mustard family. AllBrassica oleracea will cross pollinate. Pollination is effected byinsect vectors, most common of which is the honey bee. Broccoli, likemost other Brassica, have a genetic characteristic of selfincompatibility which encourages cross pollination resulting in higherlevels of variability. Variability in populations is desired for wideadaptation and survival. Broccoli breeding populations can be inbred orbackcrossed for 8 to 9 generations and/or with the use of doublehaploids derived from anther culture to develop homozygous inbred lines.Broccoli F₁ hybrids can be produced by using self-incompatibility orcytoplasmic male sterility to control pollen movement between selectedinbred lines.

Self-incompatibility is a breeding system that enforces outcrossing andtherefore maximizes recombination in cross pollinated species. Thisbreeding system in nature has been utilized by man in F₁ hybridbreeding, especially in Brassica vegetables (Tsunoda et al., chapter13).

Cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) is another method used in Brassicavegetables species to produce F₁ hybrids. This method of producinghybrids in Brassica is a more recent development compared toself-incompatibility. A genetic mutation contained in the cytoplasm(mitochondria) is responsible for the lack of production of pollen. InBrassica, the cytoplasm has commonly been identified in and transferredfrom “Ogura”-type radish (Ogura, 1968). The major advantage of CMS overself-incompatibility is that under normal conditions, no pollen isproduced in the female parent. This results in the production of 100%hybrid seed. Under certain stressful growth conditions, however, it maybe possible to produce small amounts of fertile pollen in CMS plants.Brassica inbreds containing CMS are maintained by continuedhybridization to their normal (fertile) counterpart inbred, commonlyreferred to as a “B” line.

The plants associated with the Brassica group have been familiar tomankind since ancient times, and always of great agriculturalimportance. Brassica is a major food species worldwide. Brassica specieshave a general adaptation for cool climate growing conditions.Therefore, adaptation has occurred for summer growing conditions withcool to moderate climates and for winter growing conditions in warmer ortropical locations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention comprises a novel inbred broccoli line, designatedBRM50-3905. This invention thus relates to the seeds of inbred broccoliline BRM50-3905, to the plants of inbred broccoli line BRM50-3905, tomethods used for controlling pollination when making hybrid seed withBRM50-3905, and to methods for producing a broccoli plant by crossingthe inbred broccoli line BRM50-3905 with itself or another broccoliline. This invention further relates to hybrid broccoli seeds and plantsproduced by crossing the inbred line BRM50-3905 with another broccoliline.

The invention also comprises a novel inbred broccoli line, designatedBRM50-3906. This invention thus relates to the seeds of inbred broccoliline BRM50-3906, to the plants of inbred broccoli line BRM50-3906, tomethods used for controlling pollination when making hybrid seed withBRM50-3906, and to methods for producing a broccoli plant by crossingthe inbred broccoli line BRM50-3906 with itself or another broccoliline. This invention further relates to hybrid broccoli seeds and plantsproduced by crossing the inbred line BRM50-3906 with another broccoliline.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE NEW PLANT Definitions

In the description and tables which follow, a number of terms are used.In order to provide a clear and consistent understanding of thespecification and claims, including the scope to be given such terms,the following definitions are provided.

Average Weight: The average weight is the average weight for an entireplot of harvested broccoli head.

Overall Rating Score: This Overall Rating Score is rated on a scale of 1to 5. A score of 5 indicated an excellent overall rating. A score of 3.0indicates average, and a score of 1 indicates poor.

Color: Color means the color of the head at maturity.

Disease and Insect Ratings: Disease and Insects are rated on a scale of1 to 5. A score of 5 indicates severe damage. A score of 3.0 indicatesmoderate damage, and a score of 1 indicates no damage.

Inbred broccoli (Brassica oleracea L.) BRM50-3905 and BRM50-3906 havesuperior characteristics, and provide an excellent parental line incrosses for producing first generation (F₁) hybrid broccoli. The F₁hybrids with BRM50-3905 and BRM50-3906 have a high tolerance tobacterial soft rot which is very important in areas with high rainfalland humidity like northwestern Europe and which results in higherreturns to the grower and improved shelf life. The F₁ hybrids withBRM50-3905 and BRM50-3906 have a high tolerance to hollow stem which isimportant in areas with lower planting densities and/or fast growthwhich results in improved shelf life and higher returns to the grower.The F₁ hybrids with BRM50-3905 and BRM50-3906 have a high tolerance to‘cateyes’ which result in a more attractive product with uniform bead.The F₁ hybrids of the instant invention produce a more compact and solidhead which result in higher weight per head and head diameter ascompared to commercial hybrids, Marathon, Legacy and Decathlon which inturn increases yield for the grower and provides a better product forprocessing since the outer florets do not crumble. BRM50-3905 andBRM50-3906 produce a more ‘open’ plant type, narrower leaf petioles andsmaller scars on the stem which makes the product easier to harvest andclean, decreasing labor costs and increasing returns to the grower. Thelonger field standing ability of BRM50-3905 and BRM50-3906 providesgreater flexibility to the grower. With the combination of all of theseimproved traits, the yield is increased over the leading commercialbroccoli varieties Marathon, Legacy and Decathlon.

The inbred has shown uniformity and stability for all traits, asdescribed in the following variety description information. The line hasbeen increased and maintained by pollination with fertile inbred lineGIX with continued observation for uniformity.

The inbred broccoli line BRM50-3905 has the following morphologic andother characteristics.

Variety Description Information

MATURITY: Late

PLANT CHARACTERISTICS:

No. of Stems: 1

Head Color: Blue-green

Plant Height: Tall

A cytoplasmic male sterility gene was backcrossed into BRM50-3905 toproduce BMR50-3906. BMR50-3906 is maintained by cross pollination with afertile maintainer line which is maintained by self-pollination.BMR50-3906 has the following characteristics:

MATURITY: Late

PLANT CHARACTERISTICS:

No. of Stems: 1

Head Color: Blue-green

Plant Height: Tall

This invention is also directed to methods for producing a broccoli bycrossing a first parent broccoli plant with a second parent broccoliplant, wherein the first or second broccoli plant is the inbred broccolifrom the line BRM50-3905 or BRM50-3906. Further, both first and secondparent broccoli plants may be from the inbred line BRM50-3905 orBRM50-3906. Therefore, any methods using the inbred broccoli lineBRM50-3905 or BRM50-3906 are part of this invention; selfing,backcrosses, hybrid breeding, and crosses to populations. Any plantsproduced using inbred broccoli line BRM50-3905 or BRM50-3906 as a parentare within the scope of this invention. Advantageously, the inbredbroccoli line is used in crosses with other broccoli varieties toproduce first generation (F₁) broccoli hybrid seed and plants withsuperior characteristics.

As used herein, the term “plant” includes plant cells, plantprotoplasts, plant cells of tissue culture from which broccoli plantscan be regenerated, plant calli, plant clumps, and plant cells that areintact in plants or parts of plants, such as pollen, flowers, seeds,stalks, stumps, leaves and the like. Thus, another aspect of thisinvention is to provide for cells which upon growth and differentiationproduce the inbred broccoli BRM50-3905 or BRM50-3906.

Table

In Table 1 that follows, the traits and characteristics of the hybridRS1140 which has BRM50-3905 as one of its parents, are given incomparison with other commercial broccoli varieties.

As shown in the Table, RS1140 which is the variety which has BRM50-3905as one of its parents clearly outperforms the other commercialvarieties, Marathon, Decathlon and Legacy in most categories.

Broccoli Trait Comparison United Kingdom - 1999 Plant Date: July 20 50%Avg Plant Head Bead Stem Name Mat. Wt Unif Type Type Size QualityOverall Disease RS1140 Oct 15 500 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.0 MarathonOct 13 480 2.0 4.0 3.0 4.0 3.0 3.0 4.0 Decathlon Oct 6  350 3.5 4.5 3.04.0 4.0 3.0 4.5 Broccoli Trait Comparison United Kingdom - 2000 PlantDate: July 5 50% Avg Plant Head Bead Stem Name Mat. Wt Unif Type TypeSize Quality Overall Disease RS1140 Sep 19  670* 3.0 5.0 5.0 3.5 4.5 4.53.5 Marathon Sep 13 600 3.0 3.0 2.5 4.0 — 2.5 3.5 Legacy Sep 13 620 2.53.5 3.0 4.0 — 3.0 3.5 *Due to an unusually poor seed lot this number hasbeen recalculated.

Deposit Information

A deposit of the Seminis Vegetable Seeds propietary inbred broccoli lineBRM50-3905 disclosed above and recited in the appended claims has beenmade with the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC), 10801 UniversityBoulevard, Manassas, Virgina 20110. The date of deposit was May 15,2003. The deposit of 2,500 seeds were taken from the same depositmaintained by Seminis Vegetable Seeds since prior to the filling date ofthis application. All restrictions upon the deposit have been removed,and the deposit is intended to meet all of the requirements of 37 C.F.R.§1.801-1.809. The ATCC accession number is PTA-5198. The deposit will bemaintained in the depository for a period of 30 years, or 5 years afterthe last request, or for the effective life of the patent, whichever islonger, and will be replaced as necessary during that period.

What is claimed is:
 1. An inbred broccoli seed designated BRM50-3905, asample of said seed having been deposited under ATCC Accession No.PTA5198.
 2. A broccoli plant, or parts thereof, produced by growing theseed of claim
 1. 3. Pollen of the plant of claim
 2. 4. An ovule of theplant of claim
 2. 5. A broccoli plant, or parts thereof, having all ofthe physiological and morphological characteristics of the broccoliplant of claim
 2. 6. A tissue culture of regenerable cells of a broccoliplant of inbred line BRM50-3905, wherein the tissue regenerates plantscapable of expressing all the morphological and physiologicalcharacteristics of the inbred line BRM50-3905.
 7. A tissue cultureaccording to claim 6, the cells or protoplasts being from a tissueselected from the group consisting of leaves, pollen, embryos, roots,root tips, anthers, flowers, fruit, and seeds.
 8. A method for producinga hybrid broccoli seed comprising crossing a first inbred parentbroccoli plant with a second parent broccoli plant and harvesting theresultant hybrid broccoli seed, wherein said first or second parentbroccoli plant is the broccoli plant of claim
 2. 9. A method of making amale sterile broccoli plant, said method comprising transforming thebroccoli plant of claim 2 with a gene conferring male sterility.
 10. Themale sterile broccoli plant produced by the method of claim 9.